SUSPLAN, NIBR15th March 2012Dr. Laurens de Graaf

It is the people stupid! Key figures in urban governance in The Netherlands

Background and previous research•PhD: stakeholders support in urban governance•Citizens participation in Dutch and European cities•Local referenda (harbour/station area’s)•Democratic legitimacy of Intermunicipal collaboration•Participative policy documents•Exemplary practitioners in neighbourhood governance

Today

Focus on

Key individuals in

urban participative processes

Research1. Diagnosis & focus2. Organisation3. Design4. Results5. Conclusions & Discussion

1. Diagnosis & focus• Complex urban problems (our focus is on deprived

neighbourhoods)• There are people in these contexts who are getting things done

People who make a difference in urban governance

Main questions:• What do they do in these difficult contexts? • What is their way of working?• How do they get things done?

2. Organisation• 5 large Dutch cities:

• Amsterdam • Den Haag • Leeuwarden • Utrecht • Zwolle

• Nicis Institute• Research team from:

• Tilburg University and • Technical University Delft

Period: November 2008 – May 2012

3. DesignLiterature:on street level bureaucrats, frontline workers, reflective practitioners,

deliberative practitioners, everyday makers, everyday fixers, boundary spanners, social entrepreneurs etc.

2 phases in the fieldwork:1. Scouting

2. Following (shadowing) and interviewing (‘profiling’ John Forester)

We call it ‘political anthropology’ inductive approach!

4. ResultsSome examples:

From Utrecht:A Maroccan guy (age 38) who initiated a youth

sports associations in a deprived neighbourhood in Utrecht to improve the image of Maroccan boys.

From Amsterdam:A man (age 60) who connects participatory

initiatives in a deprived neighbourhood in Amsterdam.

4. Results (2)What do these people do and how do they do it?

They show a combination of two things:Empathy & Entrepeneurship

1.Result oriented (targeted, no nonsens, rules/procedures as a condition, skillfulness…)2.Empathy (they activate others (citizens), contact, listening, tact…)3.Inspiration in Dutch: ‘Bevlogenheid’ (ambitious, onorthodox, not affraid for conflicts, stubborn…)4.Networking (collaborating, multi linguistic, connectors, meet, they know the way…)

All observed individuals have a combination between these features

4. Results (3)

These key figures can (empirically) be typified as:1.Every day maker (at the street level, result oriented, inspirational, ambitious, stubborn, annoying for governments…)2.Frontline worker (they move from bureaucracy to the street level, empathy, listening, problem solving, short term…)3.Social entrepeneur (initiator, own resources, specific target group, ‘face’ of the project, pragmatic networking, risk taking…)4.Boundary spanner (connector, they move around and are not at fixed places, conflicts are productive, broad urban network, partners in crime, they need a big person ...)

5. Conclusions & discussion Survival of the fitting (‘person in context’) They all have general and specific qualities We found these key figures in bureaucracy (system

world) as well as in the streets (life world, civil society). They are catalysts (they move between public

organisations and the streets) They work at key positions at the top of relevant

organisations, but also at key positions at the centre of governance networks!

A majority is working in urban participative governance processes.

5. Conclusions and discussionQuestions to elaborate on (and for SUSPLAN):1.Do you recognise it?2.Is this meaningful for urban planning/participative processes

in other countries as well? If yes, A. How to find these key figures in urban development?B. How to facilitate these key figures, and by whom?C. How can you collaborate with/manage such a person?D. What are their (dis)advantages?

3.Can you learn to be a ‘key individual’? 4.Can we speak of street level politics?

More informationTilburg UniversityTilburg School of Politics and Public AdministrationLaurens de Graaf L.J.deGraaf@uvt.nlwww.tspb.nl 0031 (0)13 466 8136